Mass Merchant

Framingham, Mass. - Staples Inc. is offering a new back-to-school 110% price match guarantee. Starting June 29, Staples customers are guaranteed to pay the lowest price every time they shop in store or online. Staples will price match items sold and shipped by Amazon.com or any retailer who sells products in both retail stores and online under the same brand.

Duluth, Minn. – Specialty young women’s apparel store Maurices plans to open 15 new stores, including seven grand openings and eight reopenings, through the middle of July. The new stores include:

Grand Openings:
June 27: Lufkin, Texas at Lufkin Mall and Greensburg, Indiana, at Greensburg Crossing.
July 4: Aurora, Colorado, at The Gardens on Havana.
July 5: Hoffman Estates, Illinois, at Poplar Creek Crossing.

New York -- Annie Young-Scrivner, executive VP of Starbucks Coffee Company and president of its Teavana business, has joined Macy's board of directors.

Philadelphia — Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust has completed the previously announced sale of South Mall in Allentown, Pennsylvania, for $23.6 million. Net of closing costs, settlement pro-rations and credits, proceeds from the transaction totaled approximately $23.1 million.

In addition, PREIT has entered into an Agreement of Sale to dispose of its two remaining non-core malls — Nittany Mall and North Hanover Mall.

Former Delhaize CEO Dirk Van den Berghe was named president and CEO of Walmart Canada as the retailer eyes long-term growth opportunities including the development of small stores.

If the retail industry needed a catalyst for change, one that nearly mandates more efficient and sustainable packaging practices, FedEx recently provided the blowtorch to ignite it.

Minneapolis - Nearly all online orders of $50 or more at Target will now qualify for free shipping. The new policy, which takes effect June 23, makes tens of thousands more products eligible for free shipping.

Only oversize and heavy items will be excluded and subject to a handling fee. Target now matches Wal-Mart’s online free shipping offer but still has a higher threshold than the $35 free shipping offer from Amazon.com. Participants in Target’s Red Card loyalty program, which is free to join, always get free online shipping.

By Joe Scartz, [email protected]